PASTOR’S NOTES
He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.”
Last week we taught through how the Book of the Covenant is God’s way of applying His moral law to everyday life. As a church we taught through how God desires for us to never see ourselves or others as slaves to the world, but to also never forget that we once were one. There was a time that we were spiritually a slave to sin, lost and broken. Once saved we are not meant to be burdened by our past, but strengthened by the remembrance of it. Strengthened that God has changed us through what Christ has accomplished for us!
This is what God was calling His people to in Exodus.
The people during this time were free for the first time in their life! Physically and spiritually. For the people to continue, they had to see themselves and treat others in the light of that freedom. The Book of the Covenant begins with how to treat others in our newly found freedom! This week’s lesson now gives us order and consequences if we choose not to.
As I read through the rest of chapter 21, I see a beautiful picture of parenting. I read of a perfect Father in our God. A perfect parent. As a parent, we call our children to treat others in the way that we would like to be treated. Most of us find ourselves doing this most often when it comes to the relationships within the family. We daily instruct our children that we should treat brothers and sisters with love, forgiveness, and kindness.
Why? Because they are family!
In Exodus 21, God is building a new community in the form of a family. God tells the people that no matter who you are in the community, treat each other like free brothers and sisters. They were called to remember their slavery, live in their freedom, and do all of this with one another. True community!! However, any good parent knows that no matter how clear the instructions are, there will always be those who break the rules. There will be those who fight, lie, speak poorly, and steal from those we are called to love. We live in a sinful community.
With this reality, God gives this newly built community order. God gives order in the form of consequences to best help deter those who sin and protect those from the harm of sin. As we pointed out last week, many of these examples listed in the text does not apply to the world that you and I live in. However, God back then is the same God today. A God that calls us to love and peace, but also a God that gives us order when we choose otherwise.
A perfect Parent.
SCRIPTURE TO GO ALONG WITH THE MESSAGE
Read Galatians 6:7-8
HIGHLIGHT IN YOUR BIBLES
Highlight verses 12-13 in Exodus 21.
